The invention relates to an electrical connector used, for example to make electrical connection to a heating system or to an antenna system on a glazing, and a method of manufacturing a glazing.
Electrical connectors are known which make an electrical connection between a cable and a conductive element on a vehicle glazing. For example, a T-piece connector is used to connect a heating circuit or antenna on a vehicle glazing to the wiring harness of a vehicle. The T-piece comprises at least two feet which are soldered to a conductive element, such as a busbar, on the vehicle glazing. The feet are connected to the busbar using a conventional solder, containing lead.
A known problem with such conventional solder is unacceptable concentrations of lead in waste electrical equipment recycling, especially related to end of life vehicles. High lead concentration in water supplies can cause lead poisoning of people and the environment. Therefore it is desirable to use a lead-free solder in combination with conventional T-pieces, but this combination has less advantageous mechanical properties, which may lead to breakage of glass in the region of the solder. Thermal cycling in a vehicle can cause premature failure of such an electrical connection. A solder joint of this combination is unreliable therefore it is desirable to find an alternative design of T-piece connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,909,665 (Pilkington/Lyon) solves the problem of reliability of the solder joint between a T-piece connector and a busbar, wherein the T-piece has a connector bridge, of height “h” above the feet, and the feet have protrusions, of height “d” in the direction of the glass. A more reliable solder joint is obtained by optimising “d” and “h” in combination with lead-free solder.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative electrical connector with improved reliability of lead-free solder joint and fewer breakages of glass in the region of the solder after thermal cycling.